The site as it currently stands doesn't seem to have the same movement towards journals as it used to, so I don't know if this will really be seen by anyone. But it still feels like a good idea to have something here just to say "hello".

Hello.

So for the benefit of any random profile browsers, who am I? Well...

1) I signed up in 2006, and quickly got drawn into the community. I signed up because I'd stumbled across some RvB videos "in the wild" online and so was heading to the source; but when I signed up my first stop on the forums was actually "books", and more specifically "Discworld", where I made on-site friends who have spilled over to real-life ones, many of whom I am still in touch with to this day.

(I've also been to two different site-user weddings, but only one of those couples actually met on here, which does feel like cheating on the part of the other couple)

2) At some stage I'll have to update the "about me" section on my profile here as it feels extremely out-of-date. For example, it mentions writing for a games website that no one has ever heard of, and that site hasn't worked to upload since 2020, nor been readable outsite of the Wayback Machine since 2023. Which is a pity, as I did do some bloody good work there.

(I did a journalism degree, 2007 - 2010; if you have the patience to scroll back though my old journals you'll find the "I'm fed up, I need a new direction" posts in 2006 and 2007 that led to me quitting my old job and... well, basically taking a three year detour. I got a couple of things published over a decade ago, which was validating at the time but not that impressive in retrospect; and I wrote for the mentioned website for a few years. Mostly these days I take my eye for detail and/or pedantry and turn it to good use working as hospital admin. An eye for detail can be extremely useful here)

3) I am a gamer who never seems to spend time gaming. It used to be my main pastime, and I've got about 40 years worth of computers and consoles available to me. However, free time isn't as free as it used to be, and I rarely get more than a couple of hours to sit down to something at the weekends these days. The irony is that when I do sit down I seem to end up playing older titles rather than looking at anything I might have bought more recently.

(It's not just gaming. I mean, yes - I have a practically uncountable number of unplayed games. But I also have hundreds of books and DVDs waiting to be appreciated too. I clearly need to make more time for myself)

4) Once a lifetime ago, when I was bored I used to click through profiles on here to read and comment on journals people had written. Now... let's see. I've hopped around occasionally, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be anything giving people a reason to write anything on their own profile, so all the action is happening in the discussions. This is not the same thing.

(I sincerely hope the revived site takes off, and gets both an influx of new blood and the return of some old-school users. Honestly, I'm looking forward to the community feeling like a community again, to have a chance to catch up with some old aquaintances and to meet some people I just never stumbled across before)

5) Lists still need to have at least five items.

(I also note we have text formatting options now. Hurrah)